Opus Dei is a secret organization featured in "The Da Vinci Code." Now Chris Matthews takes you behind the veil of secrecy and into Opus Dei.
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Father "Rocky" Frank Hoffman, chaplain at Northridge Prep, says the school doesn’t have a specific class on Opus Dei. "Sometimes in the chapel talks, I’ll tell them stories about Saint Josemaria, the founder of Opus Dei. Mostly, Opus Dei has to enter through their eyes, to see what it means to do your work well."
The Lechner family seems no different from any family with strict religious values, spirituality, and love — but why do outsiders believe that Opus Dei is secretive and even sinister?
Part of that public perception may be fueled by fact and fiction: It is a fact that one of the most damaging spies in U.S. history, Robert Hanssen, is a devout Catholic and reportedly a member of Opus Dei. His six children all attended Opus Dei-affiliated schools. He spied for the Soviet Union and Russia during a 20-year period and plead guilty in 2002 to 15 counts of espionage and conspiracy in exchange for a life sentence with no chance of parole.
In fiction, the best-selling "The Da Vinci Code" features a murderous albino monk who is identified as a member of Opus Dei. He practiced a Catholic ritual of "corporal mortification" —inflicting pain on himself to suffer as Christ did.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8144060/